A large gathering of public employee union members and supporters protest on Monday, June 20, in Trenton outside the Statehouse over plans by Gov. Chris Christie to reduce benefits and limit collective bargaining over health care for public workers.

Mel Evans
Associated Press

Revolutionary War re-enactors and others cross the Delaware River Monday, June, 20, toward Trenton as they march to the Statehouse.

Mel Evans
Associated Press

A large gathering of public employee union members and supporters protest on Monday, June 20, in Trenton outside the Statehouse.

Despite protests, bill making public employees pay more for pensions and health passes Senate, Assembly panel

A large gathering of public employee union members and supporters protest on Monday, June 20, in Trenton outside the Statehouse over plans by Gov. Chris Christie to reduce benefits and limit collective bargaining over health care for public workers.

Mel Evans
Associated Press

Revolutionary War re-enactors and others cross the Delaware River Monday, June, 20, toward Trenton as they march to the Statehouse.

Mel Evans
Associated Press

A large gathering of public employee union members and supporters protest on Monday, June 20, in Trenton outside the Statehouse.

State lawmakers working to increase public workers’ payments
toward pensions and health insurance removed a controversial
provision from the draft law that would have set restrictions on
out-of-state health coverage Monday.

That was enough to win the pension-reform bill approval by the
full Senate and by an Assembly subcommittee, setting up a vote
Thursday by the full Assembly before the legislation heads to Gov.
Chris Christie’s desk.

As 1,000 union members converged on Trenton with tents and signs
for an all-day protest of the bill, state Senate President Steve
Sweeney, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, and Assembly Speaker
Sheila Oliver, D-Essex, Passaic, agreed to remove the restrictions
on out-of-state health care. Party leaders saw the move as
necessary to win over skeptical Democrats and at least one
skeptical Republican assemblyman, Atlantic County’s Vince
Polistina, whose combined votes are seen as vital to passing the
legislation.

Polistina, one of the only Republicans to break ranks and voice
objections to the reforms supported by Christie, said this weekend
that controlling where public employees can get medical care is
“flat-out wrong.”

Two hours before a scheduled hearing on the bill, leaders
rewrote key language to remove limits on when public workers could
seek care at hospitals across state lines.

What remained was a bill that asks public employees to make
greater contributions to pensions and benefits, and excludes health
care from collective bargaining deals until 2014. The full Senate
approved the bill 24-15, with one abstention.

Separate emergency legislation passed Monday would allow state
employees to choose between different-tiered health plans with
different in-state and out-of-state rules.

Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, said he had spoken to Sweeney
repeatedly about making the change.

“I had reservations, which I raised with leadership,” Whelan
said.

The emergency legislation, which passed the Senate 24-14 on
Monday, “was worked on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

“I am gratified that the leadership in Trenton listened to my
concerns and worked through the weekend to address them,” Polistina
said. “Given my own experiences with needing out-of-state,
specialized care for my children, any provision that would
significantly restrict out-of-state health care for public
employees and their families was a nonstarter for me.”

However, Polistina said he still has concerns to address before
the bill is put up for a full Assembly vote Thursday.

“I remain concerned about the current amendment requiring
doctors to sign a certification approving out-of-state care, and
have reached out to some doctors in our area to discuss these
issues directly with them so that I can completely understand this
new legislation before casting my vote,” Polistina said.

Some of the public-worker union members who came to Trenton on
Monday struggled to keep pace with news of the fast-moving changes.
Many said they had come to protest the out-of-state provision, and
brought heartrending tales of choices they made in life-or-death
situations.

Frank Pileiro, a teacher in Linwood, described choosing to bring
his adopted baby daughter to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to
receive treatment for a lifelong blood disorder, one of just nine
hospitals to offer that comprehensive treatment.

“Think about the effect on the faces,” he said, gesturing to the
crowd. “Not just the dollars.”

By that point, the Senate had already approved the full measure,
including the emergency legislation adjusting the out-of-state
provision.

But Assembly lawmakers on the budget committee listened to
testimony for eight more hours before voting 7-5 to release the
bill after 8 p.m.

Kathleen Davis, executive vice president of the Chamber of
Commerce of Southern New Jersey, faced a hostile crowd as she told
the committee that asking for greater contributions from public
employees was a “no-brainer.”

A crowd member interrupted her testimony, shouting an expletive,
and was quickly ordered out of the room by state troopers.

Long Beach Township Police Officer Kevin Lyons, who is
administrator of the state PBA’s Legal Protection Plan, said he was
inside state Senate chambers when the vote was cast. Lyons said the
gallery was packed with members of law enforcement.

If the pension reform legislation is passed by the Assembly,
Lyons said, it will cost him $9,000 a year.

“We’ll have to see how strong the resolve is and how upset
public employees are in November. That’s when they’ll hear from
us.” Lyons said. “That’s not a threat, it’s the process. And no, I
won’t vote for anyone who voted for this.”

Sweeney, speaking mid-afternoon, revealed how close the unions
and Democratic lawmakers came to agreeing on a deal to cap workers’
salary contributions for the cheapest health plan before weekend
negotiations stalled.

“They were close, but they were miles away,” Sweeney said.

Christie, in a written statement, praised the bipartisan effort
that led to the Senate’s passage of the bill.

“As a result of Democrats and Republicans coming together to
confront the tough issues, we are providing a sustainable future
for our pension and health benefit system, saving New Jersey
taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars and securing a fiscally
responsible future for our state.”

Police and Firemen Retirement System pension trustee Wayne Hall
said he also was at the Statehouse and believed lawmakers were
moving too quickly and with too many questions still not
answered.

“Even during the hearings, there were questions they had that
weren’t answered, and I don’t see how you can vote on something
when you don’t have all the answers,” Hall said.